GBP Chapter 392 - 142: Little Sister, Jing Si Is No Good
Chapter 392 - 142: Little Sister, Jing Si Is No Good
Qin Xiang’s good mood soured. He looked at Jie Jingchen, confused, and asked with a shaky voice, "Why are you going to find your mom?"
"To tattle." Jie Jingchen uttered the two words without a blush.
Qin Xiang was completely baffled. He pieced together Jie Jingchen’s words—go to the hospital to tattle to his mom—and his mouth twitched uncontrollably. ’For something like this, even if you don’t solve it with your fists, you don’t need to go crying to your mother, right?’
"How old are you, still running to your mom to tattle?" Qin Xiang shot Jie Jingchen a contemptuous look.
Jie Jingchen, however, felt no shame. "No matter how old you are, if you’ve been bullied, it’s perfectly reasonable to go tell your mom."
Qin Xiang finally snapped. He shoved Jie Jingchen’s shoulder. "Hey, I’m serious, Jing Si! A man! We’re men!"
"So what?" Jie Jingchen asked.
Qin Xiang froze, then shoved Jie Jingchen away and turned to Qin Mei. "Little sis, what kind of guy did you marry?"
Qin Xiang expected Qin Mei to look down on Jie Jingchen for being so spineless. Instead, she just said, "I’ll go with you."
"You two..." Qin Xiang felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Jie Jingchen gave Qin Mei a reassuring smile and declined her offer. "No need. You wait for me at home. I’ll be back soon."
"Okay, be careful on the road. I’ll wait for you at home." Qin Mei didn’t insist. She assumed Jie Jingchen didn’t want her to come along for fear of damaging his image.
In reality, Qin Mei was mistaken. If Jie Jingchen cared about his image, he wouldn’t be going to tattle to his mom in the first place.
Qin Mei then thought of Jing Qi and instantly understood. If she and Jie Jingchen went to the hospital, only Jing Qi and Qin Xiang would be left at home. It wasn’t that she was afraid Qin Xiang would do something to Jing Qi, but rather that she was worried about what Jing Qi might say to Qin Xiang.
As Jie Jingchen rode away on his bicycle, Qin Xiang was still struggling to process what was happening. ’He’s really going to the hospital to tattle to his mother.’
"Little sis, there’s something wrong with Jing Si," Qin Xiang couldn’t help but complain. Jing Si was his brother-in-arms, and he knew his character better than anyone. ’It’s such a trivial matter that he could easily solve himself. Why does he need to bother the elders?’
Qin Mei glared at Qin Xiang, displeased. "You’re the one with something wrong with you."
Seeing his little sister defending Jing Si made Qin Xiang feel a pang of jealousy. He said, "Jing Si wasn’t like this before. Why is he so spineless now? Could it be because he was injured and had to retire from service? Did his personality completely change? But he doesn’t seem like it!"
"That’s enough. Go make dinner. We can eat once Jing Si gets back." Qin Mei didn’t want to continue this conversation with Qin Xiang.
Qin Xiang pouted in deep dissatisfaction. ’To think that I... ugh! Never mind. In front of my little sister, I’m nothing. Sigh! And I’m supposed to be a guest who’s traveled a long way, yet Jing Si’s idea of hospitality is to order me around without a shred of mercy.’
Resigned to his fate, Qin Xiang walked toward the kitchen. There were no vegetables, only rice.
"Little sis," Qin Xiang called out.
Qin Mei came to the kitchen and stood at the doorway. "What is it?"
"There are no vegetables," Qin Xiang said.
"I’ll go buy some... No, you go buy them. I’ll cook the rice." Qin Mei stepped over the threshold. Unsure when Qin Xiang would be back with the vegetables, she decided not to use the large wood-fired stove. Instead, she lit the honeycomb briquette stove to cook the rice on.
Qin Xiang had no objection to Qin Mei’s arrangement. Qin Mei didn’t know how to ride a bicycle, so it would indeed take her much longer to go to the grocery store. Since Jie Jingchen had ridden off on his own bike, Qin Xiang would take Jie Jingjue’s.
After washing the rice, Qin Mei sat in front of the honeycomb briquette stove, waiting for the water in the pot to boil.
"Fourth Sister-in-law." Leaning against the wall, Jing Qi stood at the doorway.
Seeing her, Qin Mei stood up and went to support Jing Qi, helping her carefully lift her leg over the threshold.
Jing Qi’s legs had just recently healed. She could walk on flat ground without issue, but slopes were a struggle, and crossing thresholds or climbing stairs was a real effort. If she wasn’t careful, she could fall. After this happened a few times, Qin Mei had made it a point to help her over the threshold.
Qin Mei helped Jing Qi to the long bench they used for meals. "Jing Qi, you sit tight. I’ll go check if the water is boiling."
"Fourth Sister-in-law, I’ll go." Jing Qi tried to get up but was stopped by Qin Mei.
"Don’t move." Qin Mei pressed down on Jing Qi’s shoulder.
Jing Qi looked up at Qin Mei and said earnestly, "Fourth Sister-in-law, I know how to cook rice, and I can even make a few dishes now."
Making stir-fry was one thing, but cooking rice was another. If you were careless while stir-frying, the worst that could happen was a burn from splashing oil. But if you were careless while cooking rice, knocking over the starchy water or the entire pot was no laughing matter.
The pot was very heavy, especially when it was full of cooking rice.
Qin Mei said with a serious expression, "Jing Qi, once your legs have completely healed, I won’t stop you from cooking rice or making stir-fry. But for now, since they haven’t fully recovered, you just need to focus on your studies and your exercises. Don’t do anything else."